Wills and trusts are both essential components for many people’s estate plans. Each fulfills different goals and serve different purposes. A Milwaukee Estate Planning lawyer can help you understand how both a will and a trust can serve you and your future.
Wills
A will outlines how your assets and property will be distributed after your death. It provides clear instructions to follow when going through the probate process. Without a will, your assets go through the probate process unguided, and the process becomes much more complicated, and it is less likely that your wishes will be followed. Creating a will with the help of a Milwaukee Will Lawyer allows you to designate an executor who will ensure that your wishes are followed.
Advantages
- Simplicity
- Wills are typically more straightforward than trusts.
- Guardianship of Minors
- If you have minor children (under 18 in Wisconsin), then a will is the only document in which you can nominate a guardian for your children. If you do not have a will and do not appoint a guardian for your children, then during probate, the court will appoint one, and it might not align with your wishes.
- Flexibility
- A revocable trust allows you to make edits.
- Avoid Intestacy
- Intestacy is when someone passes way without a will, trust, or any other plan for their estate. Intestacy probate is a complex process, so having a will ensures that your wishes are followed after you pass.
- Final Wishes
- You may also include your final wishes for your funeral in a will. This could include whether you want a burial or cremation, the cemetery, and other preferences.
Disadvantages
- Still goes through probate
- In Wisconsin, a will still has to go through the court-supervised process of probate. It simply provides guidance during the process but does not avoid it entirely like a trust does.
- Public record
- When the will goes through probate it becomes a public record.
- Can be challenged
- The probate process is technically public so some people may challenge the will’s validity. Validity can be challenged if there are issues with a signature or witness, or if someone believes that the testator of the will wasn’t of sound mind and didn’t understand what they were signing.
- No Tax benefits
- Wills don’t share the same tax incentives as certain types of trust.
- Limited control over asset distribution compared to trusts
Trusts
A trust allows you to skip the probate process entirely. By hiring a Milwaukee Estate Planning Lawyer, you can put real estate, cars, stocks, money, and other assets in a trust. A trust is typically a more complex component of an estate plan and allows for more complex goals.
Advantages
- Probate avoidance
- In Wisconsin, unlike wills, trusts avoid the probate process entirely. This results in a faster and more private transfer of assets.
- Private record
- Trusts, unlike wills, avoid probate, so they are private record.
- Tax benefits
- Some trusts can minimize estate, gift, and income taxes, thus offering significant tax advantages.
- Control
- With a more complex and comprehensive process, trusts allow you to set conditions upon the transfer of assets, such as age or milestones, for your children or other beneficiaries to achieve before receiving their inheritances.
- Avoid Intestacy
- Intestacy is when someone passes way without a will, trust, or any other plan for their estate. Intestacy probate is a complex process, so having a trust ensures that your wishes are followed after you pass.
Disadvantages
- Cannot appoint guardians for minor children
- A Will is the only document that can appoint guardians for minor children.
- Complexity
- Trusts are typically more complex than wills, however this also allows trusts to achieve more complex goals.
Contact a Wisconsin will and trust attorney
Wills and trusts serve different purposes and accomplish different goals. Both avoid the intestacy process and ensure that your wishes will be followed after you pass. Oftentimes people find that they need both a will and a trust, and Attorney Konstantakis will advise you on what best fits your future plans. At Konstantakis law office, our most common estate planning package has both a will and a trust. Attorney Konstantakis has over 28 years of experience and can help ensure that your future is protected, and your wishes are fulfilled.
